#realm lore

so, you may be asking: what's a mancy? a hand flare? conjures? you'll find answers to that and more here!

toc:

what's magic?

what's a mancy?

what's a soul?

what are some common spells?

how does your mancy impact your life?

what's magic?

magic is both a set of particles that "grow" in certain places, and a system of drawing those particles to use in spells. magic behaves similarly to light, being both a wave and particle, although it is not visible. magic has a low wavelength, longer than infrared but shorter than radio. however, magic particles, when under control of a person, can lose their wave properties and become solid by being squashed together. magic, when reacting to biomagic, will emit a flame that is harmless to the person, with the color signifying the mancy of the user.

(this chart isn't perfectly accurate! the hues can vary from individual to individual)

what's a mancy?

"mancy" is a slang term derivied from the names of the 6 "elements" that a realmian can be born with: pyromancy, hydromancy, geomancy, aeromancy, photomancy, and umbramancy. your mancy controls what you draw your magic from. what mancy you're born with doesn't affect the general-use spells you have access too, but it often impacts life in other ways.

the prefixes give a good idea of what each mancy draws from, but here's a quick refresher:

pyromancy: heat energy (once thought to be fire) hydromancy: water geomancy: earth and minerals aeromancy: air photomancy: light umbramancy: darkness

there's also biomagic, a kind of magic that is biologically constructed. centered around the soul, it functions dual purposes of supporting the soul and immune function. biomagic cannot be used for spells, however, and must be supported with outside magic.

what's a soul?

a soul is a biomagic construct built around the heart. it's the center of the magic system, built around the circulatory system. the soul interfaces with the brain through unknown means to preserve the genetic coding of the body and the consciousness, including memories. in short, it acts as a repository for the human body in order to transfer to the realm.

in addition to being a repository, it also provides immune function, using magic in order to move cells around quickly. this is used to quickly mobilize an immune response, stopping a majority of infections quicker than a base plane immune system.

what are some common spells?

the most used spell by far is telekinesis. it's very simple to learn; you just surround an object with magic and move that magic around. it's so common, in fact, that it's used as a gross motor skills milestone.

next is hand conjures, which in day-to-day life, can function as a crutch, cane, or simply lifting heavier items that would require too much stamina when using telekinesis.

mancyswimming is a common transport alternative; one dissolves their body into a mixture of their mancy and biomagic in order to become one with whatever they're swimming in. unfortunately, many rural areas do not have the infrastructure for mancyswimming to be viable.

pulses are most often used in navigation. it's a mixture of mancyswimming and telekinesis, where one "pulses" out a wave of their mancy to scan the environment. it was once used in hunting, too, but animals felt the pulse and ran away, effectively negating a hunter's cover.

how does your mancy impact your life?

the most common example is that of magic dependency. common in realm borns, it's a condition where magic must always be drawn in order to support the magic system. without that magic, the immune system may go haywire, resulting in shock, seizure, and if immediate medical treatment is not available, death. in most cases, however, it's mild enough to just result in headache or fatigue.

mancies with more common sources, such as photomancy or hydromancy, are privileged over uncommon sources, namely umbramancy, in society. infrastructure is typically built with support in mind- lights have to be at 50% for equal opportunity for both photo and umbramancers- but not all buildings have that luxury.

the mancy of the parents may not affect the mancy of their child. for example, a pyromancer and geomancer may have a hydromancer child. this often places families under financial strain as they scramble to find resources for the child, as they have no experience caring for that mancy or live in a suitable area.

your mancy may determine how you're percieved, too. similar to zodiacs, mancies have personalities associated with them (although this also falls under the barnum effect, like zodiacs).

(clockwise from top: photomancy, aeromancy, hydromancy, umbramancy, geomancy, pyromancy).

confused about all this? you're in the right place, bucko.

TOC:

1. realm summary

2. magic summary

3. realmian geography, terms, and culture

realm summary

the realm is a plane of existence- think of it as universes stacked on top of each other- that is above the base plane, or the universe that contains earth and the solar system. it's an afterlife with magic, although it is ruled by no god. the main governing body is the central realm, which is the united mega-continent that most are transferred or born into. there is also the white isles, a northern island nation, and the private islands, small islands created via geomancy held to governance by the realmian island association (ria).

magic summary

while it is still under the name of "magic," it's treated as both a science and a fact of life. there are 6 mancies- pyromancy, hydromancy, geomancy, aeromancy, photomancy, and umbramancy- that are determined via genetics, and tell what source you draw magic from. "spells" are magic being enacted, and it's a muscle memory thing rather than being spoken or laid in ritual (like riding a bike). whenever magic is used, a flare of internal biomagic (magic a body produces to use internally) reacts with the magic one is drawing from. this flare is taught to be reduced to the dominant hand, becoming the well-known hand flare. hand flares are often used as a greeting gesture, in place of a wave or handshake, as they can be activated at will with no other magic being used.

realmian geography, terms, and culture

the central realm is, unsurprisingly, similar to the locales of the base plane. it's largest city is that of temenos, originally the sumerian e-ana (not to be confused with the base plane temple of the same name), with the name being changed by the greek. it's home to the "spawn point" of sorts, where transfers- people who have died and came to the realm- are placed. directly on top of this point is the temenos national hospital, a hospital constructed by the government to house the thousands of people that are transferred every day. the most populated cities are near the coasts of the endless waters that make up the infinite expanse of the realm, with inner locations being more rural and forested.

realmians are just as likely to use slang as base planers. a "transfer" is someone who has died and came to the realm. realm-borns are those born in the realm. "tele" is shorthand for telekinesis. "mancy" is what kind of magic you were born with (when asked what their mancy is, people respond with the first half of the full name; e.g. pyro, hydro, etc).

realmians are often grateful for second chances at life. thus, pheonix imagery is quite popular. as with the base plane, suburban children see more education, including magic education, than inner city or rural kids. thus, suburban areas have more diverse magic use instead of bare-minimum basic living with magic that's taught in the national hospital.

every since shapeshifting was fully perfected and made public in the 2010s, there's been a prominent shapeshifting subculture. be it original species or form ideas made into communities, or simply shapeshifting for beauty and health, it's often tied deeply with one's appearance and perception- for obvious reasons.